Numsa march halts Joburg traffic

Gauteng / 19 March 2014, 2:42pm

Naledi Mailula

National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) members demonstrate during a march for jobs in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 19 March 2014.
“Ulimenemene Jacob Zuma (President Jacob Zuma, you are two faced),” they sang. Picture: Werner Beukes/SAPA

Johannesburg - Jan Smuts Avenue was a sea of red on Wednesday as Numsa marchers made their way from Zoo Lake to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) offices in Rosebank.

Traffic was at a standstill as the marchers flooded the main road.

The march was relatively peaceful.

Some of the marchers waved and blew kisses at children at a nursery school along the way.

Marchers also stopped and asked for water at some of the businesses along the route.

Many shops, however, closed their doors as the marchers made their way past.

Some motorists sat in their vehicles, unable to make their way through the crowds.

At one intersection some of the marchers came across an ANC poster and banged on it. They were reprimanded by other members.

Some marchers were temporarily distracted as they spotted musician Zola coming out of one of the shops along the route.

They took out their cellphones in a bid to snap pictures of him. He quickly hurried away from the crowd.

Some of the men stopped to urinate outside the walls of a building.

Throughout the march, the singing and chanting continued. The marchers were demanding employment.

National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim met the marchers at the Nedlac building and began addressing the crowd at 12.30pm. - Sapa